Rough diamond

TAPENADE

A delicious olive spread can be made by crushing olives and adding a little olive oil. And you can do so much with it: stir it through pasta, smear it on bread, or spoon it on a lamb chop. This recipe remains my favourite.

Ingredients

(makes 350 ml)

½ cup good olive oil

1 slice white bread, crusts removed and cubed

1 small white onion, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, finely crushed

½ cup pitted green olives

½ cup pitted black olives a handful basil and parsley 3 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped 1 tablespoon capers

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Here’s how

1 Heat 1-2 tablespoons of the oil in a pan and fry the bread cubes until golden brown and crispy. Spoon them out and then add another tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the onion until it’s soft and translucent. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or two. Remove from heat.

2Mix together the toasted bread, onion mix, green and black olives, herbs, anchovies, and capers in a food processor and process until the mixture has a coarse texture and is well mixed. Don’t let it get too fine.

3 Scrape the tapenade into a bowl, season with the lemon juice, and pour the rest of the olive oil on top to form a layer. Keep it in the fridge until you use it. Chilli, chopped pecans, and sun-dried tomatoes are optional extras if you want to experiment.

Drive & Camp says Buy the green olives stuffed with anchovies, then there’s one less ingredient to check off the list.